The present invention relates to an improved Christmas tree stand.
Many designs have been proposed for Christmas tree stands suitable for supporting and positioning a live, cut Christmas tree.
For example, Capen, U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,882; Scheffler, U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,323; Gidlof, U.S. Pat. No. 3,779,493; and Davis, U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,415, describe Christmas tree stands in which a ball and socket arrangement is used to position the tree in the desired position. Hronyetz, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,462, and Murray, U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,444, show related designs in which the trunk of the tree is received inside the ball and socket. In each of these designs, the socket is compressible so that the ball and hence the tree attached thereto can be locked into place once the tree is moved to the desired position.
Corbsello, U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,601, shows a related design in which the trunk of the tree is also received inside the ball and socket. However, in Corbsello, threaded fasteners are provided in a side wall of the tree stand for securing the tree in a desired vertical position.
Montie, U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,772; Mousolf, U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,274; Krinner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,113 and Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 5,363,591 show related designs in which a tree pivotally mounted on its bottom to a base is locked in position by ropes or arms attached to the trunk of the tree.
Drablowski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,715,095, shows a stand in which a receptacle for receiving the trunk of the tree is mounted on a tripod arrangement which allows the receptacle to be moved to different positions for vertically positioning the tree. A retaining pin is provided to lock the receptacle in place in the tripod once the tree is moved to the desired position.
Adams, Des. 349,259; Oldenburg, U.S. Pat. No. 5,299,381, and Grinner, U.S. Pat. No. 5,362,024, show tree stands in which adjustable floor pads are used to properly position the tree.
Kuhnley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,699,347, and Claus, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,807, show tree stands in which a frame for attaching to the tree is mounted on a base for pivotal movement about perpendicular, horizontal (X and Y) axes.
Patton, U.S. Pat. No. 4,130,965; and Brown, U.S. Pat. No. 5,337,990, show Christmas tree stands in which the weight of the tree in the stand bases a plurality of clamping legs into engagement with the trunk of the tree for supporting the tree in position.
Finally, Roy, U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,808, shows a Christmas tree stand in which a clamping jaw for holding the tree in proper position is actuated by means of a foot pedal attached to the Christmas tree stand base.
Although each of these designs is workable theoretically, in practice none have found any significant commercial use. Those designs which involve ball and socket arrangements with compressible sockets are inherently limited in terms of the size of tree they can accommodate. This is because the compressive forces on the ball necessary to stop the ball from rotating can be immense when center of gravity of the tree is even slightly off center. On the other hand, those designs using ropes or arms attached to the tree trunk have difficulty accommodating non-uniform trunks, off-center trunks, low branches and so forth.
Tripod arrangements are also severely restricted in terms of tree size because of the bending stresses placed on the pivotal joints of the tripod legs. These stresses can become particularly significant when the center of gravity of the tree is positioned not directly over one of the legs but rather between adjacent legs. Tripod arrangements can also be unstable until the full weight of the tree is received therein. Known designs using adjustable floor pads are typically restricted to small tree sizes, because the degree of adjustment of the individual pads is usually comparatively small. Also such designs are often cumbersome and difficult to use, because each floor pad must be individually adjusted.
Accordingly, there is a need for new Christmas tree stand designs which are simple in construction, stable, easy to use, and can accommodate larger trees therein.